Electric meter connection appliance



. July 5, 1937-- F. w. GARNER ET Al. 2,086,495

ELECTRIC METER CONNECTION APPLIANCE Filed oct. 18, 1935 v Patented July6, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE 'ELECTRIC METER CONNECTN APPEL NCECo., Hartford, Conn.

necticut a corporation ci Uon= Application October it, i935, Seriali No.45,55%

4 Claims.

The invention relates particularly to an electric meter connectionappliance which includes a `connection device adapted to be mounted atan opening in the cover of the trough or box with 5 which it isassociated and adapted to detachably support a meter especially designedfor that purpose. K

In an appliance of this character as heretofore made and used, theterminals for the attachment of the longitudinal bussing wires arecarried directly by a connection device, which in turn is carried by theremovable frontcover. .As the result of this arrangement, it isnecessary to connect the bussing or circuit wires to their respectiveterminals after the connection device and the cover are in place, andsuch connection of the bussing wires is very diicult and troublesome byreason of the lack of sufcient working space.

In accordance with the present invention, the terminals for connectionwith the bussing wires are mounted on an insulating block in fixedposition in the box and the meter connection device at the front isdetachably connected with the terminals on the block. This permits thebussing wires to be connected to their respective terminals before thefront cover and the connection device are put in place, thus allowingample Working space for making the desired connections.

In the accompanying drawing we have illustrated a representativeembodiment of the in=n vention, but it will be understood that thedrawing is intended for illustrative purposes only and is not to beconstrued as dening or limiting the scope of the invention, the claimsforming a part of this speciication being relied upon for that purpose.

Of the drawing:

Fig. l is a fragmentary front View of a trough or box embodying theinvention, the detachable meter being omitted.

Fig. 2 is a side view showing the meter connection appliance, theenclosing box being shown in section along the line 2-2 of Fig. i. ,inthis view the meter is shown detached from the meter connection device.

Fig. 3 is a front view showing the insulating block at the rear and thebussing terminals thereon. I

Referring to the drawing, i represents as an entirety a box adapted forcontaining service or bussing wires and 'also load wires. The bor. i maybe a trough adapted for cooperation with two or4 more meters or it maybe a shorter unit with side walls at the end and adapted for cooperationwith only a single meter. As shown, it may be assumed that thetrough is adapted for at least three meters, but the parts associatedwith only a single meter are shown.

- fine trough I is provided with a top waii 2 (ici. 247mm with a rearwall 3, and a bottom wall t. At the rcntris a removable cover 5 which isadapted to be secured in place in any convenient way, as for instance byscrews ii, t entering threaded holes in ears i, "i formed on the top andbottom walls.

The iront cover 5 is provided with a large circular opening at which ismounted a meter ccnnection device adapted to detachably support aj meterespecially designed for that purpose. The device as illustrated servesnot onlyfor establishing the necessary electrical connections with themeter but also serves in conjunction with the meter itseli to providethe necessary protective relationship between the meter and the bonso asto prevent access to any conducting parts so long as the meter remainsin place.

Each meter connection device as shown coin-n prises a metallic ring 8which is mounted at the said opening in the front cover 5 and which issuitably held in place on the cover, as for in stance by means oi screwsCarried by the ring are inward projections til and it which serve tosupport insulating blocks t2 and it, positioned within the bon andspaced apart vertically as shown. The blocks UZ and lli-i carry socketsor clips Mi," t5 and i it' adapted to mechanically engage and provideelectrical connection with conductor blades it and iii projectingrearward from the meter M. When the blades M3 and t9 of the meter havebeen fully engaged with the clips it, t5 and iii, (lll oi the connectionappliance,

the meter may be locked or clamped to the ring i3 by means oi a suitablesplit ring 20,. The end portions of the ring 2li may be drawn togetherby means oi a screw 2t and may be suitably locked or sealed. l

Mounted on the meter connection device, and preferably on the lowerinsulating block i3 thereci, are wire terminals 22 and 23, which areelectrically connected respectively with the clips t@ and it. Theseterminals are adaptedfor connection with suitable load wires for theparticular customer served by the meter M.

Mounted in a fixed position in the box and preferably on the rear wallthereof is an insulating block 2t. Conductors 25 and 26 are secured tothe block 2t at the iront thereof and electrically connected with theseconductors are terminais 2l and 28y adapted or connection with bussingor circuit wires B? and B2. Preferably there is also carried by theblock 2d a conductor 29 provided with a terminai t@ for connection witha neutrai bussing or circuit wire B3 and aise carrying a terminal 3iadapted :forA connection with a nenti-ai load wire.

Two rigid conductors and 33 are carried by the meter connectionl deviceand preferably by the upper insulating block i2 thereof. Theseconductors are electrically connected respectively with theclips it andit?. The said rigid conductors 32 and 33 are so formed and so positionedas to engage the respective conductors 25 and 25 on the rear block 24when the front cover and the meter connection device are ln their normalpositions.

Preferably, in order to provide a more effective mechanical andelectrical connection between the conductors 32, 33 and the conductors25, 26, screws 34, 35 are provided which project forward from theconductors 25, 26 and are adapted to extend through holes in the rearportions of the conductors 32,33. Nuts 36 and 31 are provided which areadapted to engage the screws 34, 35, and these nuts when tightened serveto rigidly clamp the conductors 32, 33 against the conductors 25, 26 soas to provide good electrical connections.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the bussing orcircuit wires can be put in place and connected to their respectiveterminals, as shown in Fig. 3, without any interference or obstructionby the front cover or the meter connection device carried thereby. Afterthe circuit wires have been placed and connected, as shown, the frontcover and the meter connection device can be put in place, as shown inFigs. 1 and 2, theconductors- 32, 33 on the said device coming intoengagement with the conductors 25, 26 on the rear block 24. 'I'he nuts36, 31 can then be put in place vas described, the said nuts beingreadily accessible from the front through the space between the twoinsulating blocks I2 and I3.

The three load wires can be properly located in the trough or box, beinginserted for instance through a suitable knock-out opening, before thecover and the meter connection device thereon have been put inplace,land the neutral load wire can be connected to the terminal 30.Thereafter, the cover and the meter connection device can be put inplace and connected, after which the two other load wires can beconnected to the load terminals 22 and 23. After that, the meter M canbe connected to the connection device and clamped in the usual way.

What we claim is:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a trough orbox adapted for containing bussing or circuit wires and having a largeopening in the front wall thereof, an insulating block in fixed positionin the box and having conductors thereon, terminalselectricallyconnected with the conductors on the block and connectible with therespective bussing or circuit wires, a meter connection devicedetachably mounted at the opening in the front wall of the box andhaving a large opening therethrough from front to rear, a meter havingrearward projecting terminals or blades normally detachably engaged withclips forming part of the connection device, the said meter normallyserving in conjunction with the connection device to entirely close theopening in the front wall of the box, and two rigid conductors on thedetachable connection device formed and positioned to engage therespective conductors on the block when the connection device is inplace, the said conductors being visible and accessible through theopening in the connection device when the meter is not in place and thesaid conductors being `entirely concealed and inaccessible when themeter is in place.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of a trough orbox adapted for containing bussing or circuit wires and having a largeopening in 'the front wall thereof, an insulating block in fixedposition in the box and having conductors thereon, terminalselectrically connected with the conductors on the block and connectiblewith the respective bussing or circuit wires, a meter connection devicemounted on the front wall of the box at the. opening therein anddetachable independently of the front wall, the said connection devicehaving a large opening therethrough from front to rear, a meter havingrearward projecting terminals or' blades normally detachably engagedwith clips forming part of the detachable connection device, the saidmeter normally serving in conjunction with the connection deviceto'entirely close the opening in the front wall of the box, and tworigid conductors on the detachable connection device formed andpositioned to engage the respective conductors on the block when theconnection device is in place, the said conductors being visible andaccessible through the opening in the connection device when the' meter'is not in place and the said conductors being entirely concealed andinaccessible when the meter is in place.

3. In a device ofthe class described, the combination of a trough or boxadapted for containing bussing -or circuit wires and having a largeopening in the front wall thereof, an insulating block in fixed positionin the box and having conductorsvthereon, terminals electricallyconnected with the conductors on the block and connectible with therespective bussing or circuit wires, a meter connection device`detachably mounted at the opening in the'front Wall of the box andhaving a large opening therethrough from front to rear, a meter havingrearward projecting terminals or blades normally detachably engaged withclips forming part of the connection device, the said meter normallyserving in conjunction with the connection device to entirely-close theopening in the front wall of the box, two rigid conductors on thedetachable connection device formed and positioned to engage therespective conductors on the block when the connection device is inplace, and means for rigidly connecting the conductors on the connectiondevice with the conductors on the block, the said means being visibleand accessible through the opening in the connection device when themeter is not in place andthe said conductors being/entirely concealedand inaccessible when the meter is in place.

4. An electric meter connection appliance comprising in combination, atrough or box adapted for containing bussing or circuit wires and havinga removable front cover, an insulating block in iixed position at therear of the box and having conductors thereon, terminals electricallyconnected with the conductors on the block and connectible with therespective bussing or circuit Wires, a device mounted at an opening inthe detachable front cover and adapted for detachably supporting anelectric meter, the said device including two spaced insulating blockswith conducting meter connectionlelements thereon, two rigid conductorson the detachable device formed and positioned to engage the respectiveconductors on the rear insulating block when the said device is inplace, andmeans accessible between the insulating blocks" of thedetachable device for rigidly connecting the conductors on the devicewith the conductors-on the rear block. L

FRANK W. GARNER. GEORGE E. MACMANNUS.

